Cherry Coke Cupcakes

An easy recipe for tasty cherry coke cupcakes made with chocolate cake mix, cola, and maraschino cherries. A perfect treat for any occasion!

Who doesn’t love a good cherry Coke? It’s the perfect mix of sweet and refreshing. And now, you can enjoy that delicious flavour in cupcake form! These Cherry Coke Cupcakes are simple to make and taste absolutely amazing.

This cherry Coke cupcakes recipe is a fun and easy way to enjoy one of your favourite drinks in dessert form! These cupcakes are perfect for parties or special occasions, and everyone will love the delicious cherry cola flavour. They’re moist and fluffy, easy to make, and always a hit with guests.

Enjoy a rich chocolate cherry cupcake with a faint coke flavor, topped with a buttercream frosting made with maraschino cherry juice.

These Cherry Coke cupcakes recipe are a fun twist on a classic flavour combination. With a delicious chocolate cola cake base and cherry frosting, they’re sure to be a hit at your next party!

Why You will Love these Cherry Coke Cupcakes

• Easy to make with a box mix OR from scratch
• Made with maraschino cherries and cola
• Loads of cherry coke flavour.
• Cherry surprise inside!
• Moist and tender crumb.
• Creamy and fluffy cherry buttercream frosting.
• Just the perfect amount of sweetness.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcake

This easy chocolate cherry cola cupcake recipe results in rich cola flavoured chocolate cupcakes with a tender crumb, but you should be aware of some cupcake baking basics.

• Make sure NOT to over-mix the batter if you want light, fluffy cupcakes.
• Use ingredients that are at room temperature.
• Do NOT open the oven door while baking.
• Always fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
• Allow your cupcakes to completely cool before frosting.

How Long do you Bake Cupcakes?

Most cupcakes bake for 18-22 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can test if they are done by sticking a toothpick into the centre of a cupcake, and if it comes out clean, they are done.

You can also test by gently pressing down on the cupcake and looking to see if it bounces back completely or not. If it does, they are done, if your finger left a dent they need more time.

How to Store Frosted Cupcakes

To prevent these cupcakes from drying out, store them as you would other baked goods. These cupcakes should last up to three days at normal room temperature covered in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container, and about a week if refrigerated.

If you don’t plan on eating the cherry cola cupcakes within two to three days of baking them, place the unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container and freeze for up to two months.

Thaw at room temperature for about 5 hours, and frost with delicious cherry frosting when you are ready to serve.

About the Equipment Needed for Making Cupcakes

For making the actual cupcakes themselves I usually just use a large mixing bowl, and a whisk since we don’t need to cream butter.

You will need two muffin tins and 24 cupcake liners as well for baking them.

When it comes to the buttercream, I always pull out my stand mixer to make sure I get it super smooth and creamy. A large bowl and a hand mixer works too. You don’t need an electric mixer though, a bowl and whisk is possible, just a lot more effort.

If you want to decorate your cupcakes bakery style then you will also need a pastry bag and a large decorating tip.

About the Ingredients for Cherry Cola Cupcakes

These easy cherry coke cupcakes are made with simple ingredients to recreate the tasty flavours of cherry coke.

Maraschino cherries – I used two different types of maraschino cherries – the cheaper stemless ones for inside the cupcakes, as well as higher quality stemmed cherries for the garnish. I don’t know why but it has gotten hard to get maraschino cherries with the stems around here . Don’t forget to reserve the syrup for the frosting and the cake batter. You can also use fresh fresh cherries for inside the cupcake.

Cake mix – Any chocolate cake mix will work, but I would recommend using devil’s food cake mix for the best flavour. Chocolate boxed cake mix is an easy shortcut for making these delicious cherry coke cupcakes. You can also use your favourite homemade cake recipe and swap the liquids for cola and cherry juice for these delicious cupcakes.

Cola – I used Coca-Cola, but you can use any brand of cola. Dr Pepper works well here too.

Oil – Just neutral flavoured oil. I wouldn’t waste butter here, the chocolate and cola flavours are pretty strong.

Eggs – Make sure you start with room temperature eggs.

Powdered sugar – For making the frosting.

Butter – Softened butter here. You can use unsalted or salted. If you use salted you will want to add a pinch of salt to the frosting.

Sprinkles – I used brown jimmies, you can skip sprinkles altogether or use chocolate shavings instead.

Looking for More Delicious Cupcake Recipes?

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Frosted Berry Cupcakes with an Orange Mascarpone Buttercream feature a fluffy orange cake topped with a luscious frosting, and sugared fruit.

How to Make Cherry Coke Cupcakes

Yields: 24 Cupcakes | Prep time: 30 Minutes | Cook time: 22 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 10 oz Jar Maraschino cherries, drained, ½ cup liquid reserved
• 1 box devils food cake mix
• 1 cup cola
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, room temperature

For the cherry frosting:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup reserved cherry juice
• 24 maraschino cherries with stems, well drained
• Sprinkles or Chocolate shavings, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the food cake mix, cola, ¼ cup reserved cherry liquid, oil, and eggs until just combined with a whisk.

Fill liners 2/3 full and add 1 maraschino cherry to the middle of each.

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of one cupcake comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in the cupcake pan, then cool completely on a wire rack.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the butter, then add the icing sugar and mix on low speed.

Add the remaining reserved cherry juice slowly, until the frosting is light and fluffy but holds stiff peaks.

Transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost each cupcake.

Sprinkle over each cupcake with sprinkles or chocolate shavings, and place another maraschino cherry on top of each cupcake.

Enjoy!